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THE  NEW  SUbWK 
IN  MANHATTAN 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


THE  NEW  SUBWAY 
IN  MANHATTAN 


By  H.  C.  BROWN 

4 


1904 

Copyrighted  by  H.  C.  Bkown 
New  York 


THI  wintmhoP  HIM.  N.  r. 


OA 

K°o\2> 


DRILLING    AND    BLASTING  FOK  THE   KAPID  TRANSIT 


THE  NEW  SUBWAY 

N  the  archives  of  the  ancient  city  of  The 
Hague  in  Holland  may  still  be  seen  a  letter 
of  deep  interest  to  all  New  Yorkers.  It  was 
written  by  Mr.  P.  Schaghen  on  March  5, 
1625,  and  announced  to  the  members  of 
the  Dutch  West  India  Co.  the  fact  that  a 
ship  had  arrived  the  day  before  bringing 
news  of  the  company's  expedition  to  America.  Referring  to  the 
success  of  the  venture,  the  letter  concludes:  "They  have  bought 
the  island  of  Manhattan  from  the  wild  men  for  the  value  of  sixty 
guilders."    The  new  settlement  was  called  New  Amsterdam. 

We  shall  not  attempt  in  the  limited  space  at  our  command  to 
dwell  further  on  the  early  history  of  Manhattan.    Its  population 

1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/newsubwayinmanhaOObrow 


FORTX-SKCOND  STREET   BTATION     NEW  SUBWAY 

Some  idea  of  how  fast  passenger  traffic  grows  in  New  York 
may  be  gained  from  the  following  figures: 

1872  All  lines,  surface  and  elevated,  138,867,000 

1882         "  "  "  252,800,000 

1892         "  "  "  453,200,000 

1899  (Transfers  included)  687,789,259 

All  the  steam  railways  in  the  United  States,  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Rio  Grande,  do  not 
carry  as  many  passengers  by  over  5%  as  are  moved  in  New  York 
City  alone. 

That  is  the  problem  covering  a  volume  cf  urban  travel  un- 
paralleled as  to  quantity  in  any  city  in  the  world,  and  increasing 
at  an  astonishing  ratio  which  the  new  subway  is  expected  to  solve. 

The  city  has  always  been  deeply  interested  in  transit  apparently. 
Even  before  the  need  of  local  transportation  made  itself  felt,  New 
York  had  busied  itself  with  the  problem  of  connection  with  the 

S 


this  country,  they  were  introduced  into  Europe  by  the  late  George 
Francis  Train.  So  that  no  matter  where  you  roam — in  Europe, 
Asia,  Africa  or  Japan — wherever  you  see  a  horse-car  or  a  tram-way, 
you  can  always  feel  proud  to  know  that  little  old  New  York  invented 
the  system  and  inaugurated  the  first  successful  street  car  line  in 
the  world. 

And  in  the  development  of  the  cars  themselves  New  York  has 
always  kept  in  the  lead.    Not  many  years  ago  there  was  no  heat 


TWENTY-THIRD    STREET  STATION 


provided  in  winter;  the  floors  were  strewn  with  straw  in  lieu  of 
stoves,  which  would  be  deposited  in  the  street  at  irregular  intervals 
by  departing  passengers,  and  in  summer  the  cars  were  stifling 
hot,  the  windows  being  stationary.  Soon  the  straw  disappeared  and 
small  heaters  took  its  place.  The  superheated  conveyances  gave 
way  in  summer  to  the  popular  open  car.  In  other  respects  also  the 
comfort  of  passengers  was  consulted.  Straps  were  provided  for 
those  who  had  to  stand,  and  the  size  of  the  cars  was  enlarged. 

But  the  greatest  advance  came  with  the  advent  of  traction  power 
in  place  of  horses.  The  sufferings  of  the  latter  were  at  limes  enough 
to  cause  the  most  careless  onlooker  a  moment's  uneasiness,  and  New 


5 


TVPE    OF    STEEL   COACH   IN    NEW  SUBWAY 

To  those  who  enter  the  new  subway  at  the  City  Hall,  travel  on 
a  train  made  of  steel,  in  a  tunnel  light  as  day, wholly  free  from  dust, 
ashes,  smoke  and  smell,  cooler  in  summer  and  warmer  in  winter 
than  the  street,  the  contrast  with  the  mode  of  transit  in  Stephenson's 
day  will  be  marked.  The  difference  in  time  will  also  be  amazing. 
What  was  formerly  almost  a  half-day's  journey  will  be  completed 
in  fifteen  minutes. 

But  much  had  to  be  done  before  the  subway  was  even  possible. 
The  lumbering  stage  coaches  had  to  be  replaced  with  the  improved 
rail  line  affair.  This  in  time  had  to  give  way  to  the  half-forgotten 
bob-tail  one-horse  car,  where  the  fare  was  three  cents,  which  you 
dropped  in  a  box  yourself  (for  there  was  no  conductor  to  receive  it). 
This  was  superseded  by  the  larger  and  more  commodious  two-horse 
car,  which  rejoiced  also  in  the  dignity  of  a  conductor,  whose  soleduty 
it  was  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  passengers  and  collect  fares.  This 
was  luxury,  indeed,  and  further  improvement  was  deemed  impossible. 

Yet  it  came.  But  before  the  elevated,  the  cable,  the  trolley  and 
the  underground  traction,  which  were  the  next  progressive  steps, 
some  innovations  were  tried,  which,  though  at  the  time  unsuccessful, 
were  eventually  proven  to  be  correct  in  principle. 

Charles  C.  Harvey  essayed  an  elevated  road  in  Greenwich 
street,  from  the  Battery  to  29th  street.  He  used  as  a  propelling 
power  a  wire  rope  drawn  by  a  stationary  engine.  This  was  a  failure, 
and  not  till  small  steam  locomotives  were  tried  did  overhead  travel 


7 


damage  would  have  been  done  to  the  whole  idea  of  underground 
transit  had  their  plans  been  adopted. 

But  the  need  for  greater  transit  facilities  continued  even  after  the 
opening  of  the  elevated  and  the  substitution  of  street  cars  for  stages 
on  Broadway.  Horses  were  soon  displaced  by  cables  operated  by 
steam,  and  cables  in  turn  by  electrically  controlled  trolley,  both 
overhead  and  underground  (as  in  Madison  avenue  and  other  New 
York  City  lines) ;  yet  still  the  cry  was  for  more.  The  strap-hangers 
could  not  be  dispensed  with.  They  were  present  at  all  hours  and 
on  every  line.  Such  was  the  situation  when  ground  was  broken 
for  the  latest  and  best  system  of  transit — New  York's  great  under- 
ground Rapid  Transit. 


EXCAVATING   FOR   THE  SUBWAY 


9 


between  the  receipt  of  Mayor  Hewitt's  message  and  the  ceremony 
of  breaking  ground,  which  was  conducted  with  much  pomp  and 
circumstance  by  Mayor  Van  Wyck  on  the  24th  of  March,  1900, 
in  City  Hall  Park,  whose  first  shovelful  started  the  actual  work 
on  the  subway. 

The  financial  question  was  the  first  rock  which  the  subway 
ship  encountered.  It  lay  there  stranded  for  a  while.  Private 
capital  could  not  be  interested,  and  the  restrictions  in  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  State  rendered  aid  in  that  direction  impossible.  In 
order  to  appreciate  the  difficulties  encountered  at  the  beginning 
of  the  project,  it  is  necessary  to  read  Mayor  Hewitt's  message  to 
the  Common  Council,  describing  what  was  necessary  in  order  to 
get  this  great  work  started.  "It  was  evident,"  said  he,  "that 
underground  rapid  transit  could  not  be  secured  by  the  investment 
of  private  capital,  but  in  some  way  or  other  its  construction  was 
dependent  upon  the  use  of  the  credit  of  the  City  of  New  York.  It 
was  also  apparent  that  if  such  credit  were  used,  the  property  must 
belong  to  the  city.  Inasmuch  as  it  would  not  be  safe  for  the  city 
to  und<*rtake  the  construction  itself,  the  intervention  of  a  con- 
tracting company  appeared  to  be  indispensable.  To  secure  the 
city  against  loss,  this  company  must  necessarily  be  required  to 
give  a  sufficient  bond  for  the  completion  of  the  work  and  be  willing 
to  enter  into  a  contract  for  its  continued  operation  under  a  rental 
which  would  pay  the  interest  upon  the.  bonds  issued  by  the  city 
for  the  construction,  and  provide  a  sinking  fund  sufficient  for  the 
payment  of  the  bonds  at  or  before  maturity.  It  also  seemed  to 
be  indispensable  that  the  leasing  company  should  invest  in  the 
rolling  stock  and  in  the  real  estate  required  for  its  power  houses 


THE    "BOBTAIL"    STREET   CAB   FORTY    YEARS  AGO 
11 


corporation.  The  voters  overwhelmingly  decided  in  favor  of 
owning  this  great  enterprise  themselves. 

Naturally  this  provision  in  the  bill  did  not  suit  the  moneyed 
men  who  first  consented  to  back  the  subway. 

Nevertheless,  private  capital  was  eventually  found  for  the 
enterprise,  and  New  York  owes  much  to  the  intrepidity  and 
courage  of  August  Belmont,  the  financier  of  the  subway. 

The  finding  of  a  contractor  able  and  willing  to  assume  all  the 
dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  work  was  a  more  serious  matter. 
Among  all  the  engineers  of  the  world  but  two  men  came  forward — 
John  B.  McDonald  and  Andrew  Onderdonk.  The  former  bid 
thirty-five  millions  flat — the  exact  estimate  of  the  Chief  Engineer, 
Wm.  Barclay  Parsons — and  Mr.  Onderdonk,  nearly  forty  millions, 
with  some  extras  in  the  shape  of  rentals. 

Mr.  McDonald  came  into  prominence  by  his  success  in  build- 
ing the  splendid  tunnel  for  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad  under  the  city 
and  bay  of  Baltimore,  which  proved  conclusively  his  right  to  be 
at  the  head  of  so  important  a  work  as  New  York's  Subway. 

As  finally  awarded,  Mr.  McDonald  agreed  to  build  and  equip 
the  road,  furnish  the  rolling  stock,  and  turn  over  everything  ready 
to  the  Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Co.  (the  operating  company), 
for  the  sum  of  thirty-five  million  dollars. 

In  addition  to  this,  Mr.  McDonald  is  given  a  lease  of  the  road 
for  fifty  years,  with  an  option  for  another  twenty-five  years,  at  a 
rental  price  to  be  fixed  upon  by  agreement  or  arbitration.  At 
the  termination  of  the  final  lease,  the  city  agrees  to  buy  the  road 
and  equipment  at  a  price  to  be  settled  either  by  agreement  or 
arbitration. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  McDonald  for  his  fifty-year  lease  pays  a 
rental  equal  to  the  interest  payable  by  the  city  on  the  bonds 
issued  for  construction  and  also  one  per  cent,  upon  the  whole 
amount  of  such  bonds,  except  that  for  the  first  five  years  the  pay- 
ment is  not  to  be  made  unless  the  profits  of  the  road  amount  to  5% 
per  annum;  and  for  the  next  five  years  the  payment  is  to  be  only 
half  of  one  per  cent,  unless  the  profits  of  operation  amount  to  5%. 

The  motive  power  is  to  be  electricity,  but  is  to  be  changed  if 

IS 


the  earth,  as  in  the  case  of  ordinary  tunnels,  the  excavation  was 
made  by  cutting  direct  from  the  street.  Into  this  cut  is  built  the 
structure,  consisting  almost  wholly  of  concrete  foundations  and 
steel  columns  between  which  spring  the  arches,  the  use  of  heavy 
masonry  being  almost  done  away  with.  This  method  of  con- 
struction in  so  great  an  undertaking  was  never  tried  before,  and 
is  only  one  instance  of  the  courage  and  originality  of  the  clever  en- 
gineers in  charge  of  the  work.  They  had  new  problems  to  solve 
and  never  hesitated  to  adopt  new  methods  the  moment  results 
justified  them.  Consequently  we  have  a  light,  graceful  construc- 
tion, yet  of  wonderful  strength,  instead  of  the  heavy,  massive  stones 
and  girders  of  the  past.  Masonry  is  used  only  where  th2  steel 
columns  rest  upon  stone  pedestals  laid  upon  the  floor. 

1* 


WHERE   ELEVATED,    SURFACE    AND    SUBWAY    COME    TOGETHER,  SIXTH 
AVENUE  AND  FORTY-SECOND  STREET 


19 


il 


Possibly  a  passenger  has  an  engagement  for  the  evening,  and 
has  left  his  office  late,  his  mind  full  of  some  project.  Suddenly 
he  recalls  with  a  start  that  he  will  need  a  shave.  Then  he  sinks 
back  in  his  seat  with  a  sense  of  composure,  for  he  recalls  that  at 
a  certain  station  he  can  leave  the  train,  step  into  a  barber  shop 
and  "be  singed"  in  any  way  and  to  any  extent  he  elects.  Already 
one  barber  shop  has  been  connected  with  the  Subway. 

To  the  shopper  this  feature  of  the  Subway  will  be  a  boon, 
indeed.  It  will  be  possible  for  a  woman  to  start  from  any  part  of 
the  United  States  without  an  umbrella,  spend  her  husband's 
income  many  times  over  and  return  home  without  once  exposing 
her  hat  to  the  weather.  Doubtless  in  course  of  time  theatres  and 
.churches,  as  well  as  hotels  and  drygoods  stores,  will  be  connected 
with  the  underground  railroad. 

Advertisements  are  to  be  placed  in  the  handsome  tiled  stations 
and  the  cars.  The  character  of  the  stations  suggests  that  the 
railroad  company  might,  to  the  advantage  of  the  public,  appoint 
a  censor  of  advertisements  who  would  perform  for  the  stations  the 
same  duty  which  the  editors  of  some  magazines  do  for  their  adver- 
tising pages.  The  stations  are  so  handsome  that  the  advertising 
posters  ought  to  be  ornamental  and  in  keeping  with  their  sur- 
roundings. There  are  also  to  be  newspaper  stands  in  the  subway 
stations. 

The  motive  power  is  electricity  supplied  by  an  enormous 
power  house  located  at  Eleventh  avenue,  58th  and  59th  streets. 
These  buildings  alone  are  worth  a  page  of  description,  but  space 
forbids.  Some  idea  of  their  immensity  may  be  formed  from  their 
dimensions — 200  x  694.  They  are  125  feet  high.  For  a  strictly 
business  building  it  is  quite  attractive  looking,  and  is  certain  to 
become  a  landmark  of  the  city.  It  has  six  enormous  smokestacks 
162  feet  high,  measuring  15  feet  in  diameter  at  the  top.  Water 
is  taken  directly  from  the  river.  The  coal  bunkers  have  a  storing 
capacity  of  18,000  tons.  The  total  amount  of  horse  power 
generated  when  everything  is  going  will  be  close  to  130,000. 

For  the  conversion  of  the  high  tension  electric  power  sent  out 

23 


AS  IT  APPEARED  A  MONTH  AFTER  GROUND  WAS  BROKEN 


not  so  wide,  are  comfortably  spacious,  and  form  a  connection 
between  the  two  basements  only. 

It  is  now  about  nine  years  since  this  concern  recognized  the 
truth,  which  is  now  so  self-evident,  that  Astor  Place  is  the  transit 
centre  of  New  York.  Wanamaker's  has  become  the  tremendous 
success  it  has  largely  because  all  roads  lead  to  Wanamaker's,  and 
the  best  of  the  world's  produce  is  to  be  found  at  Wanamaker's. 

To-day  more  than  ever  before  the  map  of  New  York  shows 
Wanamaker's  right  in  the  centre  of  the  web.  There  is  no  other 
point  in  New  York  City  where  so  many  great  lines  of  transit  con- 
verge and  come  together.  On  the  Broadway  side,  pass  the  surface 
cars  up  and  down  Broadway,  Columbus  Avenue  and  Lexington 
Avenue.  On  the  Fourth  Avenue  side  are  the  Madison  Avenue 
cars.  At  the  corner  of  the  new  Wanamaker's,  at  Astor  Place,  are 
the  Second  Avenue  cars.  A  few  steps  away  are  the  Third  Avenue 
surface  and  elevated  cars.  Passing  along  Eighth  Street  are  the  cars 
from  East  Tenth  Street  and  Christopher  Street  Ferries.  The  new 
subway  has  a  station  in  the  Wanamaker  basement.  Cars  from  the 

25 


fg^nmif'lf  S  bits oo ill ir § imr ) 


wonder  that  such 
an  enormous  in- 
vestment should 
be  made  in  retail 
building  at  Astor 
Place.  And  that 
wonder  has  ceased 
largely  because  of 
the  realization  of 
the  fact  we  recog- 
nized years  ago, 
that  Astor  Place 
is  and  must  con- 
tinue to  be  the 
transit  centre  of 
New  York. 

Ground  was 
broken  for  this 
new  edifice  on  Sep- 
tember 2,  1903. 
Notwithstanding 

the  labor  troubles  and  the  incidents  to  delay  a  huge  undertaking 
of  this  kind,  the  work  has  progressed  steadily  and  with  extra- 
ordinary rapidity.  In  the  several  photographs  shown  elsewhere 
in  these  pages  we  have  thought  it  of  sufficient  interest  to  show 
the  different  stages  which  illustrate  the  rapidity  with  which  a 
modern  steel  structure  under  favorable  auspices  can  be  erected. 

In  a  building  of  such  magnitude  as  this,  the  enormous  distances 
traversed  must  be  considered  in  order  to  minimize  them  as  much 
as  possible,  and  make  shopping,  not  only  comfortable,  but  pleasur- 
able as  well.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  so  much  time  and  thought 
have  been  expended  on  the  location  of  the  elevators  in  order  that 
every  access  may  be  had  to  all  parts  of  the  building  with  the  least 
possible  effort. 

In  the  interior  of  the  building^another  innovation  which  will 

tf 


TEN  MONTHS  LATER 


driveway,  which  is  on  the  Eighth  Street  side.  This  is  an  area  of 
4,000  square  feet,  and  is  arranged  to  receive  the  delivery  wagons, 
and  which  connects  directly  with  the  elevators.  A  vast  saving  of 
time  is  thus  accomplished,  although  at  an  expenditure  of  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  space. 

Another  feature  of  more  than  usual  interest,  both  from  a  decora- 
tive and  practical  standpoint,  will  be  the  rotunda,  or  court,  in  the 
centre  of  the  building,  which  is  built  of  cream  color  enameled 
terra  cotta,  with  a  skylight  of  polished  glass  and  ornamental  iron 
ribs.  This  court  will  be  112  feet  high,  and  provides  the  inestimable 
value  of  light  in  all  floors.  Architecturally,  it  adds  much  to  the  in- 
terest of  the  building,  although,  again,  this  meant  the  sacrifice  of 
a  large  amount  of  space,  which  was  unhesitatingly  devoted  to 
this  purpose. 

But  perhaps  the  feature  which  will  most  interest  New  Yorkers 
is  the  new  station  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Subway,  directly  on  a  level 
with  the  basement  floor.  Six  elevators  will  be  con  veniently  placed 
near  the  entrance  from  the  subway  to  convey  passengers 
immediately  to  the  floor  which  they  desire  to  visit  in  the  building. 
Two  direct  entrances  will  also  connect  the  station  with  the  store. 
Although  this  undertaking  was  fraught  with  many  difficulties 
and  very  great  expense,  the  convenience  of  being  able  to  step 
immediately  from  the  train  into  the  store  is  one  that  will  be 
much  appreciated  by  the  public. 

The  Wanamaker  Store  in  New  York  will  be  the  largest  by 
long  odds  of  any  in  America — to  say  nothing  of  the  magnificent 
new  building  now  in  course  of  erection  for  the  Wanamaker  Store 
in  Philadelphia. 

This  enormous  growth,  in  two  great  American  cities,  is  simply 
public  testimony  to  its  approval  of  Wanamaker  merchandizing, 
and  the  high  quality  of  the  public  service  rendered. 

All  the  power  and  skill  of  this  great  institution  is  at  your 
service. 

The  World  comes  to  Wanamaker's  when  it  visits  the  Met- 
ropolis.   The  World  writes  to  Wanamaker's  when  it  has  mer- 


29 


chandi.se  needs  and  cannot  come — and  it  writes  from  Texas, 
Alaska,  China,  the  Philippines,  South  Carolina,  or  wherever  it 
happens  to  abide.  And  it  gets  the  best  and  promptest  service 
that  the  skill  of  man  has  devised  for  the  distribution  of  the 
world's  products. 


*     •  • 


A  few  doors  above  Wanamaker's  and  Daniell's  is  the  famous 

ST.   DENIS  HOTEL 

at  Broadway  and  11th  Street,  particularly  suited  for  luncheon 
und  dinner. 


rV 


EUROPEAN  PLAN 

Breakfast  and  dinner  both  table  d'hote  and  a  la  carte. 
 > 

Single  Rooms,  $1.50  and  upwards  Rooms  with  Bath,  $3.50  and  upwards 
Double  Rooms,  2.00  and  upwards  For  Two  Persons 

WM.  TAYLOR  &  SON 
30 


excite  particular  interest,  will  be  a  music  hall,  which  is 
located  on  the  second  story,  but  extends  through  the  third  and 
fourth  stories,  giving  a  height  in  the  clear  of  over  forty  feet.  There 
are  no  columns  or  obstructions  within  this  hall  excepting  slender 
pillars,  which  support  a  balcony  at  the  third  floor  level.  This 
hall  will  be  renowned  for  the  beauty  of  its  mural  decorations,  will 
be  equipped  with  the  necessary  dressing-rooms,  a  magnificent 
pipe  organ,  and  will  combine  all  the  advantages  of  a  theatre  and 


FROM  PHOTO  TAKEN   OCTOBEK  10,  '04 


concert  hall  with  none  of  their  drawbacks.  It  has  a  seating  capacity 
of  nearly  1,500,  and  special  provision  has  been  made  for  the  com- 
fort of  children. 

Another  original  feature  of  the  building  which  contributes  to 
the  smoothness  of  the  opera^ig  department  is  the  concourse,  or 

28 


MX  MOM  lis  LAI  l.lt 


Brooklyn  Bridge  come  past  the  door.  The  Williamsburg  Bridge 
is  nearer  still.  The  Fourteenth  Street  cars  are  only  a  step  away. 
The  Grand  Central  Station  is  a  twelve-minute  ride.  All  these 
are  reached  without  transfers. 

There  is  no  other  spot  on  Manhattan  Island  that  compares  for 
a  moment  with  Astor  Place  and  Wanamaker's  for  accessibility. 

The  great  building  that  now  faces  Astor  Place,  and  that  can 
be  seen  from  river  and  bridge,  and  from  uptown  and  downtown, 
has  been  built  here  because  the  great  metropolitan  public  can  most 
easily  reach  this  central  spot. 

And  in  a  few  more  months  both  of  these  buildings,  the  fine,  old 
store  built  by  A.  T.  Stewart  and  the  new  steel  structure  conforming 
to  the  most  modern  ideas,  will  together  combine  the  largest  and 
most  aggressive  retail  institution  in  the  country  and  in  the  world. 

The  public  that  eight  years  ago  marveled  at  the  attempt  to 
revive  what  was  thought  to  be  a  dead  retail  centre  has  ceased  to 

26 


from  this  main  power  house  to  low  tension  power  for  distribution 
on  the  third  rail  there  are  eight  sub-stations  along  the  line  where 
the  change  is  effected.  There  can  be  no  breakdown  or  stoppage 
from  any  accident  to  the  power  house,  as  each  motor  has  its 
independent  engine  and  boiler.  Nothing  short  of  a  complete 
breakdown  all  over  the  building  at  once  would  create  this  situa- 
tion—a contingency  not  likely  to  occur. 

While  the  road  is  called  a  tunnel,  it  is  so  in  name  only.  We  have 
not  the  space  to  enumerate  here  all  the  marvelous  engineering 
triumphs  which  were  achieved  in  order  that  New  Yorkers  need  not 
travel  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  To  a  very  great  extent  natural 
daylight  will  permeate  the  Underground;  the  only  artificial  light 
will  be  that  of  electricity.  There  will  be  no  locomotives  to  fill  the 
tunnel  with  smoke  and  cinders,  the  cars  being  operated  entirely  by 
electric  power. 

The  engineering  staff  of  the  Board  of  Rapid  Transit  was  close 
upon  four  hundred  men,  including  seventy-three  engineers  and 
126  inspectors.  This  staff  was  from  the  beginning  under  the 
supervision  and  control  of  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Board,  William 
Barclay  Parsons,  who  deserves  much  of  the  credit  for  bringing 
to  its  full  fruition  in  its  concrete  form  the  New  York  Subway. 

The  photos  showing  the  interesting  excavation  scenes  are 
kindly  loaned  by  the  Rand  Drill  Co.,  and  stations  by  courtesy  of 
the  Evening  Sun. 

THE  NEW  WANAMAKER  BUILDING 

The  new  Wanamaker  building,  which  occupies  the  entire  block 
bounded  by  Broadway,  Fourth  Avenue,  Eighth  and  Ninth  Streets, 
while  a  separate  structure,  is  in  reality  merely  an  extension  and 
enlargement  of  the  older  building,  directly  opposite.  Every 
facility  has  been  provided  for  a  quick  and  pleasant  passage  from 
the  old  structure  to  the  new;  three  handsome  subways  of  white 
enameled  brick  will  connect  the  two.  They  will  be  brilliantly 
lighted  with  incandescent  lamps.  One  of  these  passageways 
alone  is  35  feet  wide  and  connects  with  the  sub-basement  as 
well  as  the  basement  of  the  new  building.    The  others,  while 

24 


Soon  uf  ter  the  Subway  is  in  operation  its  patrons  will  discover 
when  they  descend  to  the  ornate  stations  that  the  street  shop  has 
followed  them.  At  some  of  the  stations  they  will  find  themselves 
passing  along  arcades  lined  with  underground  shops  on  each  side. 
Of  the  buildi  ngs  which  will  probably  be  connected  directly  with 
the  Subway  or  for  which  such  a  connection  has  already  been  made 


are  the  new  Trinity  Building  at  111  Broadway,  the  Equitable 
Building  at  120  Broadway,  Wanamaker's  new  store  at  Astor  Place, 
the  new  Mercantile  and  Metropolitan  Life  buildings  at  Twenty- 
third  street,  and  the  Hotel  Belmont  at  Forty-second  street. 

The  possibilities  of  a  chain  of  shops  along  the  Subway  are 
interesting. 


double  standard  track  is  again  resumed,  and  continues  to  the 
Harlem  River,  under  which  it  passes  in  a  double  cast  iron  tube 
Hi  feet  in  diameter. 

Beyond  the  Harlem  the  two-track  line  reappears,  and  is  con- 
tinued up  to  Melrose  avenue,  where  the  trains  emerge  once  more 
to  the  .surface  and  are  carried  from  that  point  to  the  Bronx  on  an 
elevated  structure. 

The  West  Side  line  continues  from  104th  to  110th  street  as  a  . 
three-track  line  of  standard  steel  and  concrete,  At  this  juncture, 
however,  the  road  being  cut  in  solid  rock,  it  was  found  quite 
possible  to  do  away  with  steel  and  use  only  a  solid  arch  of 
concrete.  This  is  one  of  the  few  instances  where  a  single  arch  is 
used  in  an  open  cut,  and  is  a  notable  piece  of  engineering.  It  is 
about  42  feel  span,  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  6nest  examples 
of  this  kind  of  work  ever  constructed. 

Shortly  after  leaving  116th  street  a  deep  depression  occurs, 
and  the  train  runs  out  into  the  open  across  an  elevated  viaduct 
over  Manhattan  Valley,  to  reenter  the  earth  again  at  133d  street. 
B<  tween  137th  and  145th  streets  a  large  underground  storage 
yard  has  been  provided,  with  five  extra  tracks.  Rent  under- 
ground is  considerably  cheaper,  you  see,  than  the  streets,  and 
what  would  have  otherwise  cost  the  city  a  king's  ransom  in 
money  is  thus  acquired  for  practically  the  cost  of  excavation. 

At  l(J7lh  street  and  at  181st  street  the  Subway  is  very,  very 
far  down — so  far  that  elevators  have  to  be  provided,  the  same  as 
at  the  Elevated  station  at  1 16th  street.  That  is  the  only  place 
where  the  subway  really  gets  a  chance  to  justify  its  title.  Beyond 
Dyckman  street  the  road  finally  emerges  from  the  ground,  and 
continues  its  journey  to  the  end  on  elevated  tracks  to  Kingsbridge. 

In  the  construction  of  the  cars  for  the  Subway  due  attention 
has  been  paid  to  the  lessons  taught  by  the  disaster  in  the  Park 
avenue  tunnel  and  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  train  in  the  Paris 
underground.  As  a  result  the  new  cars  are  fitted  with  an ti  tele- 
scopic steel  platforms  and  are  absolutely  fire  proof. 


SO 


Tlie  steel  used  in  the  structure  will  be  close  upon 
75,000  tons;  the  cast  iron  nearly,  if  not  beyond, 
the  weight  of  10,000  tons. 

The  concrete  a  half  million  cubic  yards;  the  brick 
more  than  20,000  cubic  yards. 

The  waterproofing  alone  is  upward  of  three-quarters 
of  a  million  cubic  yards. 

Some  7,000  vault  lights,  each  of  many  feet  of  area,  have 
been  put  in  place. 

The  total  length  of  track  approaches  upon  350,000  feet, 
of  which  over  290,000  are  underground,  the  bal- 
ance being  elevated. 

THE    ROUTE    OF    THE    RAPID  TRANSIT 

The  road  at  present  begins  at  City  Hall  and  ends  at  the  city 
limits  at  Kingsbridge — a  distance  of  thirteen  miles.  Numerous 
applications  have  been  made  for  extensions  of  the  system  since  the 
original  route  was  sanctioned  by  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  many 
additions  have  been  authorized. 

From  the  City  Hall  up  to  33d  street  the  structure  is  four  tracks. 
Above  this  it  splits  into  two  double-track  tunnels,  which  pass  each 

side  of  the  Park  ave- 
nue tunnel  between 
33d  and  41st  streets. 
At  42d  street  these 
two  tunnels  come 
together  again  in  a 
four-track  line  as 
before,  which  contin- 
ues along  42d  street 
to  Broadway  and 
then  up  Broadway 
to  104th  street. 

At  104th  street 
it  forks  off  into  an  East  Side  and  k  West  Side  line.  The  two 
middle  tracks  at  this  point  pass  underneath  the  east  track  and, 
turning  sharply  to  the  right,  pass  into  a  tunnel  under  104th 
street  (similar  to  the  one  at  33d  street)  through  Central  Park. 
The  east  portal  of  this  tunnel  is  at  Lenox  avenue,  where  the 

18 


and  other  buildings  an  amount  of  money  sufficiently  large  to  indem- 
nify tlu-  city  against  loss  in  case  the  lessees  should  fail  in  their 
undertaking  to  build  and  operate  the  railroad." 

This  message,  subsequently  introduced  into  the  Legislature,  in 
the  form  of  a  bill,  was  adversely  reported,  and  for  nearly  five  years 
the  project  slumbered.  The  need  for  transportation,  however, 
never  relaxed  for  an  instant,  and  finally  an  act  was  passed  creating 
a  rapid  transit  commission  along  the  lines  suggested  by  Mr. 
Hewitt,  and  once  more  the  work  on  New  York's  great  Under- 
ground was  resumed. 

The  bill  as  finally  passed  by  the  Legislature  gave  the  franchise 
in  perpetuity  to  the  corporation  who  would  build  the  subway. 
This  bill  was  subsequently  amended  by  a  clause  providing  for  a 
referendum  vote,  by  which  the  people  of  the  city  should  say  whether 
it  would  be  owned  and  controlled  by  them  instead  of  a  private 

12 


AN  UPTOWN    STATION    IN  THE  SUBWAY 


THE  NEW   YORK  UNDERGROUND 

HOW   IT  WAS  BUILT  AND  THE  MEN  WHO  BUILT  IT 

The  apparent  failure  of  the  first  tunnel  scheme  seemed  to  have 
put  an  end  to  that  form  of  transit.  But  the  streets  were  already 
overcrowded  and  the  necessity  for  some  such  undertaking  became 
daily  more  pressing.  In  January,  1888,  Hon.  Abram  S.  Hewitt, 
then  Mayor  of  the  city,  revived  interest  in  the  plan  by  a  message 
practically  outlining  the  scheme  under  which  the  present  subway 
became  a  fact.  To  its  other  great  debts  to  this  distinguished  citizen 
of  New  York  must  also  be  added  the  underground  system  now  so 
successfully  inaugurated.  > 

Even  after  the  project  took  definite  form  so  far  as  the  Legis- 
lature and  other  law-making  bodies  were  concerned,  there  were 
still  endless  difficulties  to  overcome,  and  a  trying  delay  for  the 
citizens  of  New  York  ensued.    Nearly  twelve  years  elapsed 


show  its  merits.  The  Greenwich  street  line  was  quickly  supple- 
mented by  additional  routes  on  Sixth,  Third  and  Second  avenues, 
with  extension*,  and  the  Elevated  of  New  York  started  a  career  of 
usefulness  which  has  continued  to  this  day.  Its  service  has  lately 
been  much  enhanced  by  a  change  of  motive  power  from  steam  to 
electricity. 

Almost  coincident  with  the  first  elevated  came  also  the  first 
underground.  An  enterprising  citizen  constructed  a  tunnel  on 
Broadway  from  Park  place  to  Warren  street.  He  ran  trains  in  it, 
but  somehow  or  other  the  project  failed  to  commend  itself  to  capital- 
ist B|  and  the  tunnel  languished.  It  finally  degenerated  into  a  storage 
cellar  for  a  wine  house.  "To  such  base  uses  may  we  come,  Horatio!" 


In  the  light  of  the  development  of  modern  engineering,  it  is  now 
seen  that  it  was  a  wise  provision  that  ordained  the  failure  of  the  first 
underground  railway.  Had  it  succeeded  and  had  the  city  beqjf 
committed  to  the  work,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  would  have  hmen 
a  matter  of  lasting  regret.  We  would  have  been  condemned  to  ti/vel 
in  absolute  darkness,  the  air  filled  with  noxious  gases,  and  fatalities 
would  have  been  frequent.  No  matter  what  ability  might  have  been 
shown  in  building  and  planning  this  tunnel,  the  right  conditions  did 
not  exist  at  that  time  for  a  system  such  as  we  now  have.  The 
inventors  were  just  a  little  ahead  of  their  era,  and  irreparable 

8 


Yorkers  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief  when  the  new  and  eminently 
humane  motive  power  was  finally  an  accomplished  fact. 

Relief  to  the  horses  brought  also  relief  to  the  drivers.  Most  of 
the  cars  now  provide  a  covered  platform  for  the  motor  man,  pro- 
tecting him  from  the  icy  blasts  of  winter,  and  the  strain  of  his  work 
in  hot  weather  is  greatly  reduced. 

In  the  new  subway  still  further  improvements  in  rolling  stock 
have  been  achieved.  Not  only  are  the  cars  more  numerous,  but 
I  hey  are  also  of  vastly  superior  construction.  All  of  them  are  built 
with  metal  lining,  making  them  absolutely  non-collapsible,  and  a 
great  number  are  built  entirely  of  steel.  A  peculiar  feature  is  the 
floor  construction, consisting  of  steel  girders  running  lengthwise,  thus 
preventing  any  danger  from  rear-end  collisions.  They  are  certainly 
a  wonderful  improvement  over  anything  yet  used  for  the  purpose. 

The  first  street  cars  in  New  York  commenced  running  about 
18:W,  and  the  line  extended  from  Prince  street,  then  the  northern- 
most limits  of  the  city,  to  Harlem  Bridge.  The  cars  were  curiously 
shaped  allairs,  each  having  their  compartments  with  side  doors, 
somewhat  like  the  English  railway  trains  of  to-day.  They  were 
balanced  on  leather  springs,  and  the  driver  sat  overhead  with  the 
brake  at  his  feet.  They  were  built  by  John  Stephenson,  whose  shop 
in  Twenty-eighth  street  is  still  j>ointed  out. 

From  this  extremely  primitive  venture  has  been  evolved  all  that 
we  now  have  in  trolley,  underground  or  elevated  car-lines  with 
which  the  city  is  gridironed  in  every  direction. 


surrounding  neighborhood.  As  early  as  in  the  days  of  Queen  Anne 
£500  was  appropriated  to  open  a  road  from  Nyack  to  Sterling  Iron 
Works,  which  was  to  be  wide  enough  for  two  carriages  with  the  over- 
hanging boughs  of  the  trees  cut  away.  The  second  British  Gov- 
( riior,  Col.  Francis  Lovelace,  in  1073  established  a  mail  route 
between  New  York  and  Boston.  This  primitive  undertaking  was 
mode  st  in  the  extreme,  the  service  consisting  of  a  single  messenger, 
who,  for  the  "more  speedy  intelligence  and  despatch  of  affairs,"  was 
ordered  to  make  the  round  trip  once  each  month  with  letters  and 
packages.  In  1729  came  a  fortnightly  line  of  stages  to  Philadelphia, 
and  in  the  same  year  a  proposal  was  issued  for  a  foot  post  to  Albany 
along  what  is  now  Broadway.  In  1793  the  Boston  route  had  grown 
from  a  single  foot  messenger  to  "small,  genteel  and  easy  stage 
carriages,"  which  made  the  trip  in  between  three  and  four  days  and 
ran  thrice  a  week.  The  fare  was  four  pence  a  mile.  Time  surely 
works  great  wonders,  and  truly  the  earth  is  shrinking. 

Passing  the  days  of  the  man  and  his  horse,  which  may  be  called 
the  first  method  of  transit  in  Manhattan,  we  come  to  the  sedan 
chair  of  romantic  memory,  and  later  on  to  the  gorgeous  private 
coaches  of  the  officials  and  of  some  prominent  private  citizens, 
with  their  picturesque  liveries  and  their  dashing  postillions. 
No  public  conveyances,  however,  were  established  till  the  beginning 
of  the  famous  stage  coach  days.  These  vehicles  went  through  many 
amazing  changes,  and  increased  in  number  so  greatly  that  lower 
Broadway  at  times  was  made  impassable  by  their  huge  and  swaying 
forms.  Long  after  these  stages  had  finally  passed  in  all  other  streets 
of  the  city,  they  still  remained  a  picturesque  and  curious  feature  of 
Broadway  life  as  late  as  1884.  They  marked  the  first  municipal 
effort  to  afford  transportation  to  the  citizens  of  New  York,  and 
performed  a  wonderful  service  in  their  day. 

Meanwhile,  the  ever  increasing  demand  for  better  facilities 
directed  the  attention  of  inquiring  minds  to  the  problem.  As  a 
result,  New  York  gave  to  the  world  the  idea  of  horse-cars  on  rails, 
an  idea  which  has  been  of  wonderful  value  to  mankind  in  its  con- 
venience. Thirty  years  after  they  had  been  successfully  operated  in 


4 


A 


in  1G25  was  about  eight  souls.  To-day,  with  its  environ  merits 
and  included  in  its  city  government,  that  number  has  grown  to 
almost  half  that  many  millions.  In  business  hours  and  on  special 
celebrations  its  denizens  are  nearly  doubled. 

The  strange  formation  of  the  little  island  has  caused  no  end  of 
worry  and  trouble  to  the  men  whose  business  it  is  to  move  the 
people  about  the  city.  Manhattan  is  almost  one  solid  rock.  It  is 
barely  two  miles  wide  at  its  widest  part  and  not  quite  a  mile  at 
its  narrowest. 

The  residence  portion  is  in  the  north  and  the  business  part  in 
the  south.  Consequently,  everybody  uptown  has  business  down- 
town, and  naturally  they  all  begin  and  leave  at  about  the  same 
hour.  The  transportation  problem  during  the  "rush  hour" 
therefore,  is  wholly  different  from  that  of  any  other  large  city, 
which  can  usually  grow  in  all  four  directions. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  growth  of  population  within  recent  years 
has  been  so  rapid  as  to  greatly  complicate  the  problem.  Many 
persons  in  New  York  still  living  can  recall  the  time  when  Central 
Park  was  considered  further  out  of  the  town  proper  than  Bronx 
Park  is  to-day.  Forty-second  street,  now  one  of  the  main  arteries 
of  travel,  was  the  home  of  squatters,  and  goats  roamed  at  will 
through  the  rocks  and  boulders  in  which  the  thoroughfare  abounded. 
Bloomingdale,  Yorkville  and  Harlem  were  villages  to  the  north, 
and  it  took  almost  as  long  to  reach  them  as  it  does  to  go  to  Albany 
now,  for  local  transit  in  those  days  was  very  alow. 


UBLT  COLONIAL    RAPID  TRANSIT 

2 


4 


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